


Hungry Eyes

by williamastankova



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-28 08:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16719510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/williamastankova/pseuds/williamastankova
Summary: Rose and Nine have to do another re-do (like in Father's Day, 1x08). Rose sees how the Doctor looks at her, from the point of view of an unbiased stranger, and she finally sees what she's been missing this entire time.





	Hungry Eyes

They made a mistake.  
It wasn't meant to go like this, yet here they were. They were meant to be in and out, not get stuck like this. In her blind panic, Rose could barely remember the basics of the situation, but she knew they had meant to stop the murder of an innocent man who had, until some unidentified _thing_  had gone back in time and altered history, lived a full life, surrounded by children and adoring fans galore. However, they hadn't struck at the right time, and so they knew there was only one thing they could do - the one thing the Doctor had sworn he'd never try again, no matter how pooling Rose's puppy-dog eyes were - and one thing only: they'd have to do a re-take.

Preparing themselves, knowing it was the final chance for their mission to be completed successfully, Rose teetered on her running foot, while the Doctor observed menacingly, timing being the crucial factor. As Rose looked on at herself and the Doctor - no, no _t_ _hem_ , but them from just a short while ago, their clones - she was suddenly caught off guard by what she saw. As she recalled, she was standing - waiting in the alley, their faces only just lit by the dingy, off-cream streetlight - for the Doctor's order to run. Then, the Doctor - no, the fake-Doctor - swirled his head to look at her, and the lights reflected beautifully in his eyes so she could see the last thing she'd ever expected.

It was like Stuart Hoskins and Sarah Clarke. It was like her father, when her mother looked away briefly. It was like Jack with just about everybody. The look in his eyes... she'd never seen the Doctor look so utterly vulnerable. Not lonely, per se, but just... she couldn't formulate the words, before he yelped out "now!", and dragged her along by her arm when she didn't move, entranced by every movement he made. She could have sworn that, even though he was a little in the dark and he tried to move quickly, she detected a hint of a blush on his cheeks. However, with no time to waste, she snapped herself out of it, and they took on the attacker.

With surprising ease, they got them down to the ground, and dealt with them efficiently. Half in her head, Rose didn't add much to the 'arrest', but when they were finally alone again, she refused to let the perfect scenario go to waste. Now, the time she wasted was completely her own, and so she decided to do something about it.

"Doctor?" She called after him as he turned to leave, expecting her to follow. Her voice was more tentative than she intended, but she supposed there were worse things in the world, "Can we talk, a minute?"

Maybe it was just her rushing mind, throbbing with adrenaline, or maybe it actually happened, but she saw his body stiffen, his shoulders shifting backwards, contorting him like a peacock, until eventually he turned around.  
"What is it, Rose?"

How was she meant to explain this, now? It sounded stupid, but she hadn't expected to get this far. Oh well, like her GCSEs, it was time to wing it.  
"I saw you," she started, now feeling she was the vulnerable one, pushing her hand into her pocket and rotating her arm nervously, "back there. How you looked... at me."

His brain momentarily malfunctioned, leaving his eyes and mouth wide open, eyebrows high up on his forehead. She could practically see the cogs whirring in his head, and then he began to make his way over to her, speaking all the while, "Now, Rose, whatever you think you saw, you didn't. You know, it's like when a kid thinks he sees Santa, because he's expecting to. Not that you'd expect to see - whatever you think you saw. I'm not calling you delusional, not exactly, just-"

"I didn't mind." She cut his rambling off, "In fact, I don't mind, if you still want to look at me like that."

If there was an Olympics for stunned silence, Rose was absolutely certain the Doctor would have won it. Maybe not usually, but that day for sure. His eyes scanned over her, no doubt collecting every oozing ounce of information he could from her mannerisms and tone and so on, then he nodded.  
"Well, yes, then." He said rather bluntly, "Maybe I will."

With that, he turned back around, avoiding any further eye contact with her, and slipped back into the TARDIS, after another day of work well-done. It was as though nothing had changed, and with his nonchalance, Rose couldn't quite tell if it had. Bewildered, she shook her head, clearing her thoughts or what little remained of them, and followed after him, unable to suppress the newly found skip in her step.

Sure, they'd made a mistake, but it was the best mistake Rose thought she'd ever made in her life, and she wouldn't change it, even if she had all the time in the world - and she really did. Only now, she'd have to keep an eye on him - a very close eye indeed.


End file.
